West Cook News

Western Springs Fire Department responded to 154 calls in 2017 - 34.2 percent less than the previous year, according to data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The calls in Western Springs included 32 fires - 25 structure fires, three vehicle fires and four other fires. The fire department also responded to one call for ruptures, explosions or overheating.

In all, the department saw $549,800 in fire loss - or about $17,181 per fire.

The department also received 121 false calls.

The Western Springs Firefighters Pension Fund, which has active employee and one retired or inactive employee, was $21,148 in debt as of December 2016, according to the fund's mandated filings with the Illinois Department of Insurance. That amounts to $1,113 for every fire in 2016.

	2016	2017	Year-over-year change (%)
Structure Fires	12	25	108.3
Vehicle Fires	1	3	200
Other fires	6	4	-33.3
Total Fires	19	32	68.4
Total Calls	234	154	-34.2